All That Remains
by DbKiT
Summary: What if Ben didn't fall? Would he be able to keep his promise to Lee and protect Clementine?
1. A broken promise

All That Remains

Chapter 1 : A broken promise

The first thing Ben felt was panic when the fire escape platform jerked abruptly beneath him. The sound of screeching bending metal foretelling his in a fightened urgency his legs launched him toward the flat brick wall in front of him. He hadn't aimed high enough. Ben clawed at the wall grabbing at nothing but the rough flat surface. Still suspended, he screamed as he registered his fate and that he was not going to make it.

"Ben!" He somehow managed to hear his name over his own yells and the wind whistling in his ears as he started to travel down, unable to save himself. Then suddenly he felt a hand grab into the fabric of his jacket, then another. One more hand snagged his wrist in mid flail and suddenly his body slammed back against the wall. He yelped and continued to struggle. Moments later the balcony crashed into the concrete below with a shattering racket.

"Goddammit, Ben!"  
"Holy shit are you okay?"  
"Ben reach up! Grab the ledge!"

The teen's mind was still in a flurry of panic and for a few horrifying seconds it seemed like the group above would lose hold of him, but with their combined strength Ben managed to latch his fingers into the drainpipe and pulled the top half of his body over the edge.  
The flashing rush of adrenaline and fear didn't take long to effect the boy. He sat down breathing shuddering breaths with his head down between his knees, waiting for his pulse to stop kicking his eardrums just enough to hear the voices of his fellow survivors fussing over the near fatal incident. Kenny carefully leaned over the edge to see the twisted metal balcony below them.

"Shit, I didn't realize that thing was so close to breaking." The sound they'd made would surely attract walkers, but for the moment the alleyway remained quiet.

"Yeah, kid you're lucky you jumped in time, sort of, and that we managed to catch you." Christa knelt by the boy, putting a hand on his still heaving shoulders. "Are you alright?"  
With one final exhale Ben nodded and felt strong enough to push himself up on one knee.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He looked up at the others, still having to struggle with words between gasps.

"T-thanks, you guys saved me." His eyes rested on Kenny who had his arms crossed, shaking his head as if pitying a poor animal.  
"Well one things for sure, we have to watch where we put our feet while we're up here. This town hasn't had people living in it for ages, so a lot of things are probably dilapidated to shit by this point," he sighed. "We were lucky this time." Kenny left it at that and turned away from Ben and Christa, scanning the horizon for the clearest and safest possible path to the Marsh hotel. Ben stood up feeling the usual cloud of dejection hovering over his head. Watching the back of Kenny's head before letting his eyes rest on his feet. Never a master of his emotions it was not too hard for other people to pick up on his feelings, unless of course they were used to it and chose to ignore it.  
"That was a close call, are you sure you're okay?"  
Ben's head snapped over towards Lee. Yeah Lee, ' the cool guy' as Ben sometimes called him in his mind or 'the second person he didn't want to piss off' with Kenny and his raging temper shining true in first place. For the longest Ben always felt his place in the group was fragile at best leaning generously toward completely unwarranted. And that was probably the sad truth. Things had happened in the past. Things he caused which set in motion the further destruction of lives which were already in shambles. Kenny was a clear example but there were others. They just weren't around anymore. The group he had traveled with for so long had changed so much, only a few of its original members remained.

Ben himself was a grade A pariah who should have been tossed out months ago. Yet here he was and by some miracle still breathing. Somehow he felt like he had Lee and Clementine to thank for that.  
What gutted Ben more was the fact that the course of events were completely against the man yet at that moment Lee cared enough to ask if he was okay. Okay? Of course he was okay, at least he wasn't bitten.

"Yeah I'm fine, seriously!" Ben tried his best to sound optimistic and smiled, trying to ignore the fact that the smile felt hollow on his face. "I...just need to be more careful, but I'm ready to keep going, we can't slow down."

His words were more sincere than his smile at least. The truth of his words made him feel just a little bit stronger.

"You hit the wall pretty hard, and your nose is bleeding, does it feel broken?" Omid asked with an eyebrow raised in concern. Ben felt the ache radiating from the center of his face but it probably wasn't as bad as it looked. Absently he wiped his white sleeve along his nose, leaving a long red trail behind. He winced, just touching his nose stung, maybe he had broken it.  
"It doesn't matter, not like I can do anything for it anyway. Let's just keep going."  
And so the small group continued its journey along the rooftops of the zombie infested city.

That day ended a week ago. Ben was still alive much to his astonishment. Along with Omid and Christa, three humans managed to leave Savannah and the massive horde behind. Though it seemed their mission had failed. After the devastating loss of Kenny, Lee got separated from the remaining survivors and as far as they knew had been lost in the sea of the undead in the streets below. Crammed between their building and the hotel like a mass of listless piranha waiting on the river bottom for their next meal to drop in. There was no place left to go, the mansion had been over run and the boat was gone. There was only the train station and whatever lay beyond. Lee told them to go there and wait so they did, clinging to his word and dogged determination to rescue the little girl.

It wasn't an easy request to fulfill in the slightest, considering the fact that the sudden influx of undead came from the relative direction of the station, at that moment, a supposed minor question from Vernon made all the bit of sense in their world. The train. The train they rode to Savannah, the horde had followed the fucking train.

"Damn are those things still coming?" Christa wondered aloud as they cautiously approached the abandoned rail yard.  
Omid scratched an annoying itch somewhere on the back of his head. "Considering the stampede we encountered yesturday I'm not surprised.." From his vantage point at the top of the main building it was overwhelming the numbers below. More than the hospital, more than the main street in front of the hotel. The undead had the train surrounded, not that it was a reasonable option for protection, not against so many.  
Christa leaned over to her boyfriend, squinting her eyes nearly closed to block out dust. It was nearly impossible to discern much of anything down in the yard living or dead.

"We can't leave, not yet. Let's give it a little while."  
Ben who had remained in the back most of the time finally decided to glance over as well. His face visibly blanched at what he saw and he turned away to sit down next to an air conditioning unit.  
"Sure, lets just wait a little while. We'll be able to see Lee and Clementine from here just fine." The hours crawled painfully slow as they watched and waited. But as the sun finally dipped under the horizon it quickly became impossible to see anything. Ben felt as if he had lost his sense of hearing completely the droning was so loud. He looked out over the city, in the direction of the bell towers. Or at least what he assumed were the bell towers. No electricity meant no light, covering the entire area in a thick blanket of darkness, coupled with the rising moans of the walkers, their smell so foul he could almost taste it in his mouth. He couldn't see Christa or Omid on the roof with him, he couldn't hear them either, it was like he was truly alone. The last man on earth. He would spend an eternity on that roof waiting for something that would surely never come. Hey curled up on his side next to the air unit feeling subdued, his nerves slowly dissolving. That noise would never end!

* * *

Ben hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyes near sunrise.

"Hey look who's awake."

Ben immediately recognized Omid's voice.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty."

With a little more effort than he was used to, Ben pulled himself to a sitting position.  
"Shit. Did I fall asleep?" he asked blearily wiping his eyes.  
"It's only been about five hours since we got here," said Omid "Maybe six, but still no sign of Lee."  
"At least the walkers seem to be thinning out down there." said Christa. But the morning light was still dim. The sun wasn't high enough to provide reliable light, still leaving large crevices of darkness throughout the city. But the moaning had lessened a decent margin, at least Ben could hear Christa and Omid a lot clearer than the previous night when they first arrived.  
For a few minutes they discussed what they would do once Lee returned with the little girl. Or more like 'if' he returned. There was no guarantee. At that point all three of them knew that they both may already be dead.  
"This sucks, seriously." Ben moaned. Another disturbingly quiet hour passed them by with no sign of a living human for miles.  
"I should have gone with him."  
"Woah are you serious, kid?" Omid's glance was incredulous.  
"He only had one arm! I mean come on,obviously I was the only person who could have gone with him," He sighed breaking eye contact. That familiar feeling was bubbling in his chest again. Familiar but still just as painful as before.  
"What do you mean?" asked Christa.  
Ben remained tensely silent, returning to his familiar posture, slightly slouched, hands tucked in his varsity pockets, his eyes darted around as if trying to pin point his own rationale to keep himself steady.  
"Like I said before, Lee was trapped on the other side of the street, we watched him jump down into that massive group of walkers, he only has one arm, we just- I just...I promised myself I would help get Clementine back no matter what. But look at me, just standing on some fucking roof miles away and who knows what may have happened by now." He closed his eyes for a second, not wanting to remember how Christa used that hacksaw, Lee's screams, but the visions were still quite fresh.

"What if... what if cutting Lee's arm off didn't change anything?" He lifted his gaze back to the couple, searching their faces to see if they understood him.

"That sign broke as soon as Lee made it across, there was no other way to get over." Christa answered sternly. Her initially quiet voice rose in pitch with every word.

"I know how you feel. Trust me I do, but there was nothing any one of us could have done and Lee had his mind made up since the beginning! What could you have possibly done to help?"

Ben took a step backwards taken aback. "I-I dunno... Something."

"And what about the two of us? Don't you think we wanted to do something? You think we were just okay with letting Lee go on alone?" Christa continued to bristle despite herself.

"Hey, calm down, Chris..." her boyfriend tried to soothe.

"At least you both have each other!" Ben raised his voice to match Christa's. "Lee put himself through hell for Clementine and Kenny did everything he could for his family."

Omid and Christa both noticed him flinch. " But what do I have? If there's anything, I shouldn't waste my time holding out hope. I just feel like I let her down again."  
Omid could only shake his head in astonishment. "Dude, you need to stop talking like that."  
Christa had about enough. "You could blame yourself all day but that won't make our situation any better, Ben." she said. "I say we try to keep some faith and wait just a little longer. Whatever happens after that we'll rethink our plan."

The three survivors remained on the roof till midday, the sun was at its highest and beaming down on top of them, of course the walkers weren't affected.  
"I don't think this is going to turn out good. If they haven't made it out by now..."

Ben could tell where this was going and wanted to stop Omid's trail of thought.  
"We can't give up on them yet! Just think about how long it would take for them to walk down the street let alone walk ten miles to the train yard. They're probably having to go really slow."  
Hope wasn't enough to keep them on the roof of that building. Hunger, thirst, and the heat of the sun eventually forced their hand. A second day had gone by with no sign of Lee or Clementine. If supplies were handy they could spare at least one more day but with only the clothes on their back, another day without food or water would land them squarely in possible starvation territory. At the very least they needed water, and at times Ben noticed Christa lay a hand gently across her abdomen. Omid would lean in close to whisper something comforting and the distressed look on her face lessened a little. But Ben knew that she was pregnant and in that case the stakes had risen considerably.

It was obvious Christa didn't want her child to die but it certainly would if they didn't find food. A decision had to be made, maybe it was up to him to make it.


	2. Away from Savannah

Chapter 2: Away from Savannah

"Hey guys." Ben said quietly, catching the attention of the other two.  
"Yeah?"

"This is a waste of time isn't it? There's no reason for all of us to wait on this roof."

The couple glanced at each other before Omid spoke.

"So you're saying we should leave?"

Ben shrugged. "You said the countryside would be our best bet, right? You two should go while things look clear, I think I'm gonna hang back a little while longer."  
Omid frowned, immediately disliking the idea. "And do what? Roast to death under the sun? That's no good, kid. We need to stick together. I already feel bad about Lee, I don't think I can leave another behind a second time."  
"But they might still come. What if they make it back and we're not here?" asked Ben desperately.  
Christa sighed and looked out again over the city. During the night a fire had started somewhere near the docks and the flames were beginning to spread across several buildings, leaving a thick trail of black smoke in the air. For a moment Ben wondered if the fire had been started by survivors in a last ditch effort to escape or if they were dying in it when Christa finally spoke. Her voice full of regret.  
"It's possible but it isn't likely. At this point we can't help Lee or Clementine and I don't like saying that." she squared her shoulders and pointed down towards the city. " Look at that place. After three days who could possibly still be alive? Even if they are there is nothing we can do for them now."

Omid motioned for Ben to look over the edge of the roof . Several stories down a small cluster of walkers hobbled about near the front entrance. "Look down their, Ben. They aren't going away and I'm beginning to think that they know we're up here,"  
"We can't leave and come back with supplies. And if we stay here even a day longer we'll be trapped."  
Ben closed his eyes and sighed wanting to object but knew deep down that what Christa and Omid said was true. There was no convenient bell tower nearby to provide a distraction. After a minute he opened his eyes, seeing the fire was already overtaking more buildings. It was a death trap. Savannah and everything in it was lost.

"Fine. You're right." With a sinking heart he conceded. "Let's just go."

Under the cover of darkness the three of them cautiously made their way down to the train yard below. They decided against trying to use the train since neither of them had the foggiest clue of how it worked and any effort put into making it run would probably attract walkers who were already in dangerously close proximity. The dull current of moaning suddenly hitched in volume letting the group know that despite their best efforts they had been seen.  
"The tracks or the woods?" Omid asked  
"I don't think either looks good right now." said Christa, "But the woods for now until the tracks clear up."  
They had to follow the tracks from behind the thick shelf of trees for nearly four miles before the tracks became clear enough to walk on. But a few straggling zombies were still catching on. They were running their luck pretty thin with only an axe, a bat, and an old rail road spike for weapons. No bullets meant their guns were useless but something was better than nothing. Thunder rolled overhead as the gray sky blotted with dark clouds. The air felt heavy, it was going to rain soon, doubling the need for shelter.

"I think I see a building ahead." whispered Ben. True enough a few more yards ahead on the opposite side of the track stood a small maintenance shack with a tin roof, the wood white and gray from weather and age. The three survivors crouched in the ditch along the tracks and watched the small gathering of zombies wander about near the front, though they seemed to not be on alert or attracted to anything.  
"We gotta get past them first." Omid uttered.

Ben gripped the handle of the bat until his knuckles turned white, the walkers were right on top of them and it was only a matter of time before they were seen. It took everything he had to not run away. The sight of those things, especially up close, vaporized his nerves.

"Who goes first?" he asked nervously.  
Christa stood slightly and readied her axe. "We go together. On three. One…two…three!" her exclamation was muted but they all felt the urgency and rushed out. The first two walkers fell with axe wounds in their skulls before they even noticed.  
Ben was terrified but couldn't back down now that he was so close, one walker heard him and turned around with a shuddering hiss. Ben swung the bat wildly with a shout, the tip of it caught the walker in the temple and it fell.  
In the tumult of awakened undead he lost focus. He spun around, bat raised trying to choose another target, but the incessant flesh craving moans were overwhelming.

Another one creeped up on Ben's side almost taking a bite out of his ear, he jerked away and tripped over the one he'd hit first, falling against the wall of the shack. The ghoul was large, the remains of a balding overweight businessman, its suit ripped and muddied. The thing lunged and would have buried its teeth into the boy's shoulder if the bat hadn't been in the way. He pushed back with all his might but was on an incline with the weight of the significantly heavy walker against him.  
"Guys….help!" Ben struggled with the bat, turning his head away from the drool and spittle escaping the walker's gaping mouth. It's girth still pressing down on him. Just when he felt that he couldn't hold out much longer he heard the 'shnk' of something puncturing the walker's skull and destroying the brain. It went limp and fell sideways.

"Come on!" Omid practically shouted despite his effort to keep his voice low. He grabbed Ben by the sleeve and pulled him through the opening. With Christa already inside he bolted it shut.

* * *

Ben dropped his bat and leaned over a counter shuddering and heaving until he finally managed to speak.  
He glanced around, nothing inside looked promising and cursed under his breath. "W-what if more of them come?"  
"You're welcome." Omid said dryly.

"I didn't see any more outside for now we stay low and figure out what to do."

"Do? Do what?" Ben's head was buzzing with adrenaline making him feel light and confused.

"Keeping quiet is a good idea." Christa hissed. " We can't afford to attract more."

Omid walked over to the window near the front door. The area ahead looked clear except for the freshly killed walkers. "Let's get these windows covered."  
It took a few minutes to push the shelves in front of the windows to keep any unwanted guests from getting a peek inside. There wasn't a need to worry about light seeping through since the building had no power. They crouched down in a back room in ominous silence mulling over their decision to leave Savannah, not that there was any going back.

Christa walked over to a series of shelves that lined the back wall. "This place looks empty but there might be something of use around." There wasn't much to be salvaged from the cabinets. A closet still held a few tools which could still be useful but not worth taking with nothing to carry them in. Omid did manage to find a large wrench that was easier to handle in a fight than the rail spike.

Their search ended an hour later when the thunder finally broke into a healthy shower of rain which pelted the ground with enough force to subdue sound and sight.  
The maintenance shack was pretty much just that, a shack, very small and isolated but the lack of light created an eerily claustrophobic atmosphere especially since they knew what lurked outside.  
The pounding rain made it impossible to tell if walkers were closing in and by the time their torturous moans reached a loud enough pitch , they might be too numerous to handle.  
We can rest here for now, just stay low and quiet. Nice and quiet. Ben thought to himself. Then in the darkness the back of his heel knocked over a large metal bucket with a slightly startling clang. He cringed not only at his own mistake but he was sure that if he could see Omid and Christa clearly they probably didn't look too happy.  
"S-sorry!" He knelt down and picked up the bucket. It was clean from what he could see and didn't have any holes.

"Hey this might sound crazy but we're pretty thirsty…"  
Omid shrugged. "Rainwater is better than no water."  
"Right…" As quietly as he could Ben unhinged the latch of the door and slowly swung it open, thankful that it didn't creak or squeal. He set the bucket out, just beyond the small overhang of the roof all the while looking left and right for any approaching threat. The rain brought a shivering chill but he could still see through the thick sheet.  
He didn't see any walkers, hastily he ducked back into the shack and re did the latch. The boy returned to the backroom to see the couple studying a large map spread across the table using only a small flashlight with obviously dying batteries.  
Things couldn't be anymore hopeless Ben thought to himself Listening to the howling wind sometimes brought the faint moans of walkers along with it.

It was still early in the nigh,Omid volunteered to take first watch. Christa and Ben slept in the back room. After a short period of nothingness, Ben felt like he was floating across a large plain. Traveling to a specific location but everything around him was shrouded in darkness. He couldn't see where he was going nor could he direct himself. The next thing he knew he was standing on something firm and slowly regained sight. It was still dim but he knew where he was.  
Ben was standing on the edge of the road across from the Motor-Inn. Well not entirely across from it. The Inn itself was several yards down the road. Without thinking about it too much he started toward it, not quite understanding why he was there yet feeling he couldn't walk away. He'd been here before but not alone. It was dark, windy and the howl of the wind brought the howl of the dead along with hit. Walkers were around but he couldn't see anything except whatever lay under the walkway lights of the motel. Wait, lights? But there shouldn't be any power.

Lifting his head, Ben saw someone standing in the empty lot. Just barely because he was so far away. When Ben was closer he stopped and gasped, not trusting his own eyes. There stood Clementine alone in the parking lot. Shivering and looking straight ahead yet somehow Ben knew that she couldn't see him. Slowly he reached out and called to the little girl."Hey, Clementine, it's me." No response. He continued to walk and saw Doug's makeshift alarm system from his position on the road. And beyond that, not much to his surprise, he spotted the RV sitting on the far side of the lot.

Where was everyone else? Where was Lily who would always stand watch? The group had become conditioned to survive, meaning as little movement as possible that could be taken as human activity, especially at night. But one person, usually Lily, was always keeping a lookout. But from what he could see, and Ben's eyes were pretty good, there was nobody but Clementine

Suddenly did exit the RV with a slow yet purposeful stride. It was hard to tell who it was due to the lack of light, but Ben saw the slender silhouette of an object rocking back and forth next to the person as he walked the lot. Ben felt something was very wrong and started to run. "Hey who are you? What are you doing!"The figure entered the lighted part of the lot next to Clementine. It was a bandit. Wearing a thick jacket and ski mask. He had his hand out closing the gap between him and the girl.

"Clementine, run!" Ben shouted at the top of his lungs, running as fast as he could down the dark empty road. The masked man grabbed Clementine by the back of her head. She shrieked as he yanked her back violently into the shadows, knocking her hat off her felt a sudden torrent of panic rip through him when Clementine fell out of view.

"Fuck! Leave her alone!" He didn't realize that he was drawing attention. He heard Clementine scream just as something lurched out of the woods onto the road in front of him. It let out a deathly rattle and reached for him, It's face horrifically familiar. While distracted, something else hit him in the side.  
At that moment he was flung forward, hitting the concrete face first. Above him he heard the moans and caught the sickening stink of rotting flesh. He struggled, only having enough time to look up to see the the undead shell of his high school friend and band teacher looming over him, their infected nails digging into his jeans and jacket. In shock he couldn't find the strength to fight off both. Then Travis sank his teeth into Ben's face.


	3. Clementine

Chapter 3: Clementine

Clementine was at a loss when she opened the door from the jewelry store to the alley. It was like being in a trance, her brain working on auto pilot. She stepped outside, taking some time to look around yet somehow not caring if there was anything waiting at the end or not. The coast was clear and she moved back out into the flow of walkers on the street. She kept to the side walk, trying her best to keep away from the undead that went past on the street. A few came disturbingly close, and it took everything for her not to run. They shuffled and swayed, sometimes staring down at her, trying to figure out if she was edible or not.

She ducked down a side street trying to escape the overwhelming numbers, but there were just as many on the next street as there were previous. The only thing keeping her alive was the gore and blood smeared over her dress.

It took a while but eventually she entered a familiar neighborhood and found the same house they had lived in the past day. Immediately her heart sank. She could tell before she could even spot the front door that the house was overrun with walkers. Nothing good there. And what of her friends? Before she could take time to dwell on their fates, a walker bumps against her with a stifled snarl. Clementine ducked and scuttled away. Her fear of being caught by one of those things temporarily trumped any growing sorrow, contemplating the fate of her friends.

_Leave Savannah. Find the others. Survive._

But where were the others? Definitely not in the house, they may not even be in the city. Or alive for that matter.

It was by pure chance that Clementine turned around to look up at the sky. In the dark she thought she saw a silhouette, turned away, and then did a double take. On the roof of the house across the street she saw a person on the roof, standing up, and looking back down at her. A penetrating chill ran through Clementine at that moment. For some reason the sight of this dark figure whom she couldn't identify, was more foreboding than the hundreds of walkers on the street.

Then the figure waved and Clementine realized that whoever it was, they were obviously in a massive heap of trouble.

She looked down at the yard and her heart sank. It was over flowing with walkers, most of the windows were broken and the front door ripped from the hinges as the dead had furiously pushed their way inside. Urgently she waved back, letting the person know that she was among the living. Though Clementine had to wonder what the person was thinking at that moment, seeing her down in the throng of walkers and not getting attacked.

The houses on the street were close together but not close enough. And the ground below had to have twenty walkers shambling around at least. They were trapped, somehow Clementine had to help.

It took some time but eventually she found a house holding just what she needed. A large green lawn mower sat idle in one of the sheds but that wasn't the only thing inside. A walker was slouched over in the seat. It didn't see her enter, and she figured the blood on her dress hide her smell. From what she could see, the man sitting in the seat had been shot in the chest and probably died here.

Nervously she circled around the mower trying to think of a way to get the creature to move. Quietly she placed her gun down on a shelf next to her and quickly traced the room with her eyes. She needed to find a key.

Luckily enough the key was easy enough to spot hanging on the wall at the back of the shed. She grabbed it and also grabbed a rake that sat alone in the back corner. Turning back to the slouching walker she poked it with the end of the rake, making sure to keep her distance. It jerked suddenly with a scratchy snort, lifting its head. It almost looked as if it had been asleep.

Clementine dashed back to the front of the shed, watchful for anything that may creep up behind her and continued harassing the ghoul with the rake.

It moaned and tried to reach for the girl but put too much weight on one side causing it to fall sideways to the shed floor. Clementine continued to poke at it, encouraging it to leave the vehicle so that she could use the key. For a few seconds the walker flailed, grabbing for the end of the rake before finally pushing itself up on its hands and knees to shuffle towards the girl.

Clementine suddenly realized that she wouldn't know what to do with the walker once it got closer. Maybe now that she had its direct attention it would still attack her despite her camouflage.

There was a shelf on the wall with a screw driver pointing out over the edge. Quickly Clementine reached for it and gripped the handle tightly. The Walker reached for her one final time, nearly all the way out of the shed. It turned its head up to face the girl with glassy eyes, its mouth cracked open gnawing at the air. Clementine dropped the rake and gripped the screwdriver in both hands, and with everything she could muster brought the tip down into the walker's eye. She grit her teeth and made sure it went all the way down to the handle.

The walker twitched slightly before going slack. Then Clementine grabbed her gun and the key to the lawn mower and climbed into the seat. Finding the ignition and sliding in the key was easy enough. Though Clementine only had a slight knowledge of how driving worked, she felt oddly comfortable behind the wheel of the bulky green lawn mower. It reminded her of the times she went to Chuck E. Cheese with her parents. She'd waste half of her tokens on Skee Ball and the other half on the racing games. She was much better at the racing games. So at least she understood the concept of pedals and steering wheels.

Actually turning the thing on was a different matter. She turned the key and the mower roared to life. It was so loud that it completely drowned out the ever present moaning on the street.

Clementine looked down, found a pedal and pressed it. The sudden forward motion of the mower took her by surprise but she didn't stop. She turned the wheel slightly in an effort to not catch the dead one laying in front of the shed but she felt a bump and heard a nasty shredding sound, she probably ran over it's hand or something.

The response of the walkers on the street and in front of the house was immediate. She had to quickly move the mower out before they could catch up. Frustrated, Clementine realized there was no way to go any faster but she had a head start on the shuffling horde which would have to be good enough. Ahead, a few walkers were trickling out of the front yards, blocking her path.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to make it all the way down to the other end of the street, once she was as close as she could stand to be near the walkers, she ditched the mower scurried into a nearby yard. She was lucky that the noise seemed to be more attractive to them than she was. It took a few detours and squeezing between iron fence bars before she made back to the house the mysterious person was trapped on.

The roof was clear and Clementine suddenly felt cold. Where did he go? Did he escape after she had drawn the walkers away? Or maybe he was still trapped inside the house? She gripped her gun tighter and started across the street. She would have to be ready to shoot or run, or both depending on what she saw beyond the threshold.

She made it up to the brown woven welcome mat covered in dirt and bloody foot prints. The inside was completely dark leaving no way of knowing what lurked in the shadows.

Suddenly a figure stepped into the door way. Clementine stopped mid step with quaking knees but her gun was ready. She immediately pointed her at the person's head which got a quick response.

"Woah woah, kid, don't shoot! I'm o.k.!" Clementine took a few steps back as the person stepped out into the available light, lowering her gun and focusing on her face.

"It's...you." Clementine realized she couldn't put a name to the face.

"Yeah, it's Molly." The young woman clarified as she glanced down the street at the hundred walkers still crowded around the running mower. "And it looks like you just saved my ass."

"W-what are you doing here?" Clementine asked. The last she remembered, Molly had left the area, having little intention of joining a group of volatile and disorganized survivors. Clementine looked in the same direction and saw that some of the ghouls had finally given up on the machine and had turned back around, shuffling aimlessly. They hadn't been spotted yet thanks to the darkness but the street wasn't safe, neither was the entire neighborhood.

Then Clementine felt Molly's hand clamp down on her shoulder. She looked up to see the young wearing a grim expression.

"Come on, lets get out of here."

* * *

They made it to a library, one of Molly's many hide aways in the city.

"It's best to not keep all of your eggs in one basket, as they say." She explained lightly as they both climbed the stairs leading up to the library storage area. It contained what Clementine thought any library attic might contain. Books and lots of them. But along with that was Molly's belongings, what few there were. Most of it was canned foods and other non perishables,flashlights, first aid kits, a hand held and desk top radio, and several packs of un opened batteries just to name what Clementine could see on the surface. It was clear to her that Molly did well for herself on her own.

Molly seemed to pick up on Clementine's astonishment and smiled.

"You're impressed?"

The girl nodded absently and wondered aloud "Why a library?"

"So I wouldn't get bored of course." She picked up a carton of instant ramen and a bottle of water. "You hungry?"

"Yeah...a little."

Molly dumped the contents into a small pot and set it on a hot plate. It would take a few minutes which would be enough time to talk and get an understanding of the situation.

But it wasn't an entirely easy thing to do. To talk about the loses. Clementine just stood awkwardly with sagging shoulders, it took Molly coaxing her to sit down before she actually felt comfortable doing so.

"So..." Molly thought she should choose her next words carefully but lacking the tact she could only speak honest words. "What happened?"

Clementine sighed deeply, focusing in on her feet. "I don't know. Nothing good." Slowly she retold recent events to Molly, or at least what she knew which much wasn't Her abduction, being trapped in the same hotel her parents were supposed to stay at before the world ended, Lee saving her from the stranger all the way up to the most painful part. It was still too recent for Clementine to retell without the strikingly painful sensation of loss clawing into her stomach.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I just, I just can't..." She stammered and wiped her eyes which were already over flowing with tears. It hurt too much to talk about Lee and why he wasn't with her any more. Molly seemed to understand and let the conversation drop off albiet to a point of awkwardness. Realizing she didn't have any appropriate words of wisdom after she'd spent so much time alone.

"I'm sorry." She finally said before walking over to the hot plate. At least she could give the girl a meal.

"Dinner's ready. Here you go, kid."

"Thank you." Clementine accepted the ramen and ate it with a lot more relish than she thought she had. She practically inhaled it. Of course it had been days since she had anything to eat that wasn't split six or seven ways. As the night dragged on Clementine and Molly discussed their situation and how Savannah was progressively becoming a much less habitable place to live.

"I have to leave. ", Clementine said. "There's nothing here for me now."

"Did you lose everyone?" Molly remembered at least six other people were with her.

"N-no. There are still four. But I don't know where they are. They weren't at the house."

"That area is overrun."

"I know...I hope they got away."

"Speaking of being overrun...Clementine you were down on the street surrounded by those things. But you weren't even attacked." Molly gazed at the young girl with a keen interest, her eyes resting on her dress.

"You didn't..."

"This makes it harder for them to not notice you." Clementine said with a lot more spirit to her voice. Probably because she was telling Molly something she knew would be important.

"Back at the hotel,Lee covered me with the blood of one of them. And we were quiet. They didn't bother us."

Molly leaned back in her chair, hand up to her chin with a look that said 'Why didn't I think of that?'

"Well shit," she muttered. "I guess that's one way of getting around."

"It isn't perfect." Clementine quickly clarified. "Like I said you have to be quiet, any noise will get them to notice you again. And sometimes they might try to swipe at you if you're standing too close." She grimaced. "And it smells awful."

"Yeah I picked up on that." Molly said with a smile. Over the past few months she had gotten used to the smell of rotting corpses. How could she have imagined that their insides would smell so much worse! When Clementine was eating, Molly had to step out into the corridor just to get a few breaths of fresh air. But like everything else she would adapt.

"So you wanna get out of this place?" Molly asked.

Clementine nodded. "Somehow, yes."

Molly turned around and peeked through the blinds of a window showing her the street below. Completely deserted, at least that's how it appeared in the darkness. She could hear them even from the library attic. She could hear them everywhere, and it was starting to drive her crazy.

Maybe Molly felt a sudden stint of depression after she separated from Lee and others. While out on another scavenging trip, the nearby houses, many still locked tight, were too tantalizing to pass over. But she had been careless to spend the night in a place so close to a moving swarm which got her trapped and it only got worse from there. With no way to escape Molly anticipated her end until Clementine showed up like a completely impractical but greatly appreciated miracle. The young woman sat, deep in thought, pulled the picture of her sister out of her pocket still wishing she was really there, alive and well.

At least she never became a walker.

Clementine was right, there was nothing left in Savannah worth staying for. The undead population was too dense; any attempt to try and live in the city for much longer would be suicide. Law of averages dictated that Molly would mess up again. And she may not get a second chance.

"Then I guess I'm your ticket out of here."

"You'll come with me?" Clementine asked feeling relief swelling up in her chest.

"I'm not one to make promises to anybody," said Molly. "But I'm starting to see that this town is done for and we need to get out, quick."

"When and how?" Clementine asked.

"Hmmm..." Molly stood up and began digging through a small pile of junk until she came across a note pad and a pencil, she quickly scribbled down some notes. "We're going to need some things. I'll have to check some of my other stashes but we should definitely leave by tomorrow night."

One of the more pressing needs was going to be transportation. Molly didn't know much about hot wiring, maybe there would be a book about that down in the library. Either way they would need to be lucky. Lucky and careful.

"I remember you're pretty good with your gun so between the both of us, we can get out of this place."

For a few fleeting moments Clementine felt oddly suspended. Not because she actively wanted to stay in this place, no of course not. But it felt like the life she knew was finally, officially, irreversibly over. She knew that eventually she would suffer whatever emotional turmoil that came out of this in the future, but at this point she clung to survival like a life raft.

Lee gave up everything to save her and she couldn't let him down. And for the sake of her parents who she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to.

"Yeah I think so too!" Clementine finally responded trying to force cheer into her voice. But it didn't sound convening. Molly seemed to catch on and decided to leave the subject alone for now.

"Lay down and get some sleep, Clem. We have a big day tomorrow."

* * *

An: Molly joins Clementine in the escape from Savannah. Maybe luck will be on their side. Maybe not. Please read and review! Tell me what you don't like or like. It helps me to write better.


	4. Left Behind

Chapter 4: Left Behind

It was about ten in the morning when the group came across a small town several miles away from Savannah. The morning felt damp and humid since last night's rain but that was hardly a worry, there were no walkers in sight which these days made any day seem like a good day. They shadowed one of the main streets until they found a small office building with it's front door unlocked. Everything else they passed had either been boarded up or visibly broken into and vandalized, and while those were easier to enter, it was no good to shelter in a building a walker could easily step into.

They sat down in the back room and unfolded the road atlas to get a better sense of direction. Christa squinted her eyes in concentration mulling over the unfolded map.

"It looks like the Interstate is just ahead of us." She said after a long studying glance.

"We need a car, we can definitely find one around here." Said Omid.

"Plenty of cars and plenty of walkers." Christa quipped.

"It might be too risky." Ben added.

"Risky maybe but it's crazy to try and do anything without transportation. We'll just have to take that risk Besides we're in the suburbs, so hopefully things will be a little more quiet."

Christa nodded in acceptance. "You're right. Let's find a car and maybe we can hit that grocery store we passed on the way here."

They advanced into the small town. As they passed several businesses and parking lots they saw only one gas station and an unfortunately low number of cars. Most of which looked unsuitable for their needs. Either that or completely wrecked in some form or fashion, usually horribly mangled against street polls or other cars. Eventually they made their way towards the residentials, finding the streets eerily silent.

"These houses might be a good place to look for supplies."

Ben thought about it and remembered the neighborhood in Savannah. How easy it was for the walkers to break in. The terror of being trapped in that attic. These homes looked smaller but he didn't want to risk being trapped again no matter how quiet it seemed.

"If nothing else there might be a good car in a garage. We can at least check those out." He offered. Checking out garages wasn't exactly like stepping into the house. Omid and Christa agreed. Everything was still but they remained alert. Checking the garages was easy enough. The town was old and so were the houses so most of them could be opened from the outside manually without trouble. But there wasn't much to find, most of them were empty or full of useless junk.

"There's gotta be at least one good car..." Omid mused to himself, trying to not be frustrated. Hours of walking and nothing to show so far except for the dull pain in his leg steadily returning, it wouldn't be long before it became a distraction. He had to keep hoping their luck would change eventually. Hopefully soon.

"Hey Come check this out!" He heard Ben across the street and ran to meet him, Christa followed shortly. They peered into a low lit garage to see Ben standing beside what had to be the start of their changed luck.

"It's only a two door." Ben said, gesturing toward the compact SUV. Colored gray, close to black but not quite with a thin white stripe running along its side. "But look at all of the space it has in the back. We can get just about anything we need to fit back here." Ben felt optimistic as he continued to examine the old Ford Bronco. Off to the side Omid let out a short whistle, obviously impressed.

"Alright let me take a look at her." He said stepping forward. Outwardly the vehicle looked well maintained but what really mattered were its insides. He would have to pop the hood. If only the keys were still-

"Oh and here are the keys!" Ben waved them up triumphantly. "They were just hanging on the wall over there." Ben could tell from Omid's expression that he wanted nothing more than to give the car a thorough inspection and easily flicked the keys over to the man.

"Hahah, good job my man." Omid opened the door and went to work.

"So you like working with cars?" Ben asked. He was curious since he also had an interest but never had anyone around who really wanted to 'talk cars'.

"I'm something of a gearhead, I guess." Omid admitted while inspecting the undercarriage for any damage or possible leakage points. "Some of my earlier jobs was fixing old cars with some buddies I knew in college. It was a pretty good deal."

"I bet! How does it look down there?"

"So far so good. We can look at the engine together."

There really wasn't such a thing as a 'new' Ford Bronco seeing as the model ended somewhere in the late 90's. But whoever used to own the car, God rest his soul, had gone through great lengths to keep it in great condition. It had obviously been driven as there was several thousand miles on the dash meter but the engine seemed to be in good shape, the tires were new and there may have been some upholstery replacement at some point. Clearly someone's pride and joy. And probably their life saver.

"I'm pretty sure this is our ticket out of here." Omid said after finishing his inspection.

"What about gas?" Christa asked from the garage door. She had given herself the duty of keeping watch.

It was probably his tenth glance at the fuel gauge. "Looks like we've got a good half a tank already. We'll get more gas off of all the wrecks we saw in the street. I have a feeling there won't be much left at that station we passed. But siphoning should be easy."

The grocery store sat in a small shopping center just across the street, sitting dark and alone at the end of a large parking lot. Ben sucked in a large breath of air through his teeth, trying to psych himself up for the task but Omid stepped up first. The doors weren't sliding but regular glass push doors. He pushed on the handle only slightly and was pleased to find out it wasn't locked.

"Looks like we're in business." He said.

"I'd like to know if this place has a back door first.." Ben said. The last thing he wanted was to go in with only one way out.

Omid nodded at the boy's sensible request. "Good point, shouldn't take long."

A quick walk around revealed a ramp that lead to both a door to the back of the store and a large rolling door for trucks. Ben stepped up the four concrete steps and pushed down on the latch. He wasn't surprised when the door opened slightly. "Hey this door is unlocked. Maybe it'd be safer to go through the back."

Omid shrugged "Yeah probably. Be careful though, I'm right behind you."

For a moment Ben felt stupid for having set himself up as the point man but didn't feel comfortable to back down. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever might be inside, then slowly he pushed down on the latch again and pushed in.

To be greeted with a smell so bad he nearly reeled backwards into Omid. He pushed in and looked to his right. In front of him laid the rotting remains of a man in a bloody apron, probably one of the stocker boys that for one reason or another didn't get away in time. His back was against the gray cement wall, his stomach ripped open revealing all of his intestine or at least what was left of it. Sploshed around his body was bile and whatever half digested food that had been inside the man before the zombies had their meal. Dry blood bloomed out from the bottom half of the stocker boy's head in a sloppy radial design against the wall behind him.

"Oh God."

It took about two and a half seconds for Ben to take it in and realize that he couldn't stomach it. He spun around and almost ran into Omid on his way down the steps. He didn't stop until he reached a dumpster sitting against the side of the building. He probably would have thrown up if had any food in him but after over two days of no food there was nothing for him to eject.

"What's going on?" asked Christa looking over at Ben dry heaving next to a dumpster.

"Ugh definitely nothing good." Omid said, smelling the horror before seeing it. Steadily he walked into the back room to get his own view of the gruesome sight. Christa quietly came up behind him, saw the body and turned away.

Outside, Ben finally managed to get his roiling stomach under control and miserably made his way back back into the room, turning his head away, not wanting to look directly at the body. He also felt more alert, there was another small room directly in front of him. The door was closed but a dead body on the floor meant the things that ate him were obviously still shambling about.

Probably in store where they needed to be.

"Hey look at this." Ben heard Omid say.

"W-what is it?" he asked without turning his head. Omid knelt down very reluctantly. Picking up a small semi-automatic pistol.

"Lets see here…" A quick examination showed the gun was empty.

"Nothing. Just our luck, ey babe?"

Christa shrugged lightly and smirked. Of course right under food, bullets for their handguns was the highest priority. But before she could wonder out loud if the store had a hunting section a startling crash from the front of the store startled the both of them, reminding them of the business ahead.

"We should get this over with. I'll go get Ben." Christa said as she went to the back entrance to fetch the teen who had finally recovered.

Omid surveyed the immediate area.

"Okay, we go in, kill all the walkers, grab everything we can carry and get the hell out of here, alright?"

"Right."

"Got it."

They pushed into the store. Unfortunately they didn't have a layout of the place but most franchises tend to have uniform floor plans anyway and this was a Wal-Mart. They sprinted toward the grocery side of the store, keeping alert and checking their corners along the way. Half way in and not a sound, maybe the place was deserted.

Just from the smell Ben could tell that the dairy and produce had long since gone bad though the smell was nothing compared to the dead man in the backroom. They made it to the canned goods section and were met, unfortunately, by three undead shoppers, cutting them off from the aisle.

"I think hear more of them." Ben whispered, his ears picking up sounds in all directions. He could see two walkers struggling through the small sea of clothing racks and there may have been one just on the other side of the isle. He definitely heard something falling off the shelf and shattering after the moaning started. Ben's question was answered. The place was definitely not deserted.

Two of the canned goods walkers came in range, arms outstretched. Omid swung his wrench into the head of the one nearest, it's body slapped into onto the shelf, dislodging the cans and tumbling them over. The walker went with them in a stumbling crash. As Christa and Omid dealt with the walkers in front of them, Ben was left at the mouth of the aisle facing his own problem. The two walkers from the clothing section had finally made it through the racks and were slowly shuffling toward the teen. Their disgusting bloody teeth exposed in a hungry sneer.

"Don't let us get pinned in!" Ben heard Omid yell out from behind him. Everything was hastening to a pace he felt he couldn't handle and the moaning rang in his ears like a death siren.

Swallowing panic, he swung the bat as hard as he could. And he missed. The bat hit the walker in the shoulder with a snap, either broken or dislocated. But it wasn't enough to stop it from coming and there was still the one behind it…and where did those two other ones come from?

"I think they know where we are!" he said, trying his best to keep the fear out of his voice. Another swing, he hit the walker in the nose and it fell back. He pushed aiming for the head of the second walker using the narrow aisle to his advantage. At least they couldn't swarm him all at once.

Yet despite his effort the two remaining were getting too close. They aggressively closed the distance as if angry with Ben for killing the two before them.

"Fuck! Ben get down!" Ben heard Christa this time and he acted on reflex. He ducked just as a heavy can of peaches flew over his head like a missile, striking the first zombie in the face. The thing stumbled and fell onto the shelves just in time for several more cans to fly and hit its two friends as well.

"Get em while they're down!"

Ben went to work. He stood up and took his bat to task, making sure the damage was permanent.

"Whew that was close." Christa sighed in relief. They had taken care of the three in front just in time.

He looked over at her with a shaky yet appreciative smile. "Ye-yeah. It was. Thanks."

Omid hefted his axe with a grin. "No problem."

"Actually yeah we still do have a problem." Christa chimed in. Ben saw her shoveling cans into a nearby cart and started doing the same.

"There's still more of them around, we can't stay here long." Christa said. But Omid didn't agree.

"No way, this place is a gold mine. We have to kill every walker so we can have a better run of the place!"

"Are you crazy...?" Christa was irritated and anxious but didn't want to devolve into an argumentative state of mind. Not now. "Whatever...Let's get what we need and get out."

"Sweet, let's see…" Omid pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it to reveal hastily scribbled notes, the words GROCERY LIST written in heavily at the top.

"When did you have time to write that?" Ben asked.

"Doesn't matter, here," Omid tore the paper down the center and gave the bottom half to Ben. "Your half."

"Huh? You want me to go get this stuff on my own?"

"No no we stick together, just stay on the lookout."

Ben glanced at his list trying to mentally locate each item's possible location in the store.

Matches

Medical Supplies

Canned food

Water

Soda

Toilet Paper

Books/Magazines (Backwoods Quarterly and Backpacker preferred)

Batteries

As far as he was concerned matches could wait. First came food. A lot of food, and a can opener if they could hazard a look to find one. Luckily a few were being sold as a special sale item nearby. A few more items on the list were easy enough to obtain while quietly stalking the store, making sure to deal with any walker they came across. Ben neared the electronics and found the books and magazines sitting nearby. The rest of the store had been completely messed over, including the electronics area which had to have been looted before they arrived. But the books were all still there, neatly stacked and in place. Ben wondered how many looters ever got a chance to plug their televisions in as he inspected the shelves. People, Journal, Good House, Delicious, some fitness magazines…

It felt strange after so many months on the road and on the run with nothing more than a Bible and the occasional graffiti message on walls. That he'd find himself browsing for magazines in a store. Though this was no casual browse he couldn't help but lock eyes with each and every face on the covers. They all looked…happy. Confident and vibrant in their fame. Celebrities and Out of Nowhere success stories who had lives full of nothing but promise. Where were they now? Truth be told Ben didn't want to dwell on it. He grabbed a few outdoors themed magazines and some books that may or may not prove to be an interesting read, and moved on.

Next came medical supplies - not without meeting up with a few more ghouls along the way. They were easy enough to dispatch, using the shopping carts as a sort of battering ram made the task much easier. Finally they made it to the large blue and white "PHARMACY" sign hanging above the smaller shorter isles dedicated to all sorts of medicinal needs and the small enclosed area where over the counter prescriptions were held.

'Get anything that looks useful' was their only frame of reference as the small group urgently began pulling boxes and bottles from the shelf and into the shopping carts. Pain medication, first aid kits, bandages, alcohol, vitamins, and even sleeping pills, nothing seemed unnecessary.

"What about the back?" Ben asked after they finished pulling out as many pill boxes as they thought they could carry out of the store. "There could be better stuff in there."

Christa's previous constraint seemed to have lessened. "It's locked up but we can probably break it." she said.

"Yeah but I got a bad feeling there will be an alarm." Omid on the other hand was cautious..

"We need medicine, Omid. I don't think for a second that your leg is fully healed. We need this." His girlfriend huffed. "Besides, the walkers already know we're here anyway." She walked over to the customer service window, axe in hand.

"Christa-Christa, wait!" Without further argument her axe crashed into the shutter blinds covering the customer service window. It bent and fell backwards after three strong hits. She slid through the small opening and went to the door.

"Christa!" Omid hissed.

"Ain't anyone back here." She said. "I'm going to get this door open!"

After a short pause Ben and Omid heard her utter something in a triumphant tone and the pharmacy door swung open. "Hurry up!" was all she said before disappearing into the white room. Ben and Omid followed, closing the door behind them. There was no alarm but the sound of the grating being broken was surely enough to acclimatize the walkers to their position.

There was no time to lose.

Several plastic bags full of pills in the pickup area were the first to be taken. And just about anything left on the shelves. Ben's heart raced as he inspected each shelf. No time to read or understand the long nonsensical names on the bottles, basically anything with the term "antibiotic" was tossed into bags. Ben thought he heard movement and turned to look. Sure enough a walker was trying to squeeze through the small customer service window the same way Christa had but with far less grace. The teen gulped and slowly went over. "Uh, be right back guys." He muttered quietly, receiving no response from the other two who were too busy pulling off the shelves to hear him.

The walker was halfway inside the room. Its front half hovering over the floor with arms stretched out, probing for something tasty to grab onto. Ben gripped his bat and whacked it several times in the head until it stopped moving and noticed with a sigh of relief that none of its buddies had arrived yet.

Behind him, Ben heard Omid and Christa exiting the back room. He turned to see them laden with shoulder bags full of pills, sprays, alcohol, bandages, and just about anything that would fit.

"Alright I think we have just about everything we can possibly lift." said Christa. "Let's get the hell out of here before we overstay our welcome."

Out of the pharmacy and back to their carts, thankfully no walkers had gotten to investigate.

"Come on! Back the way we came!" It sounded like everything from the front of the store was filtering down towards them. If there were no walkers blocking the back exit they'd be lucky.

Of course there was no such luck. The three were halted somewhere between seasonal and domestics. A sward of undead blocked the exit, oozing out of several different sections at once to pool directly in front of them.

"Dammit!"

"Go around them, quick!"

They made a hard left, ducking into the apparel section with the walkers in pursuit. At least the dead couldn't easily navigate the racks, but the carts also slowed their progress. Heavy with supplies as they were. Ben began to think that maybe they were trying to run with too much. Dodging and weaving through jerseys, t-shirts, and jeans he felt something cling to his ankle. He fell to the floor with a yelp and felt a strong tugging on his shoe. Twisting around he saw a walker hidden under the clothing clawing at his tennis shoe, trying to bring it up to her mouth for a big nasty bite.

"No!" He shook his leg desperately, bringing down his other foot, stomping the hand of the walker until its fingers snapped. He got up just when another one was in range to snap. His bag of medicine the only thing between him and rotted teeth sinking into his back. It shoved Ben forward, nearly knocking him down again. Its fingers dug into the bag pulling, clenching, and scratching to reach around toward him. The sheer volume of stuff stuffed into it actually kept the walker at bay, that is until the bag ripped.

"Where are you?" Ben heard Omid shout out somewhere ahead of him, obscured by the sea of clothes and metal racks. He leaned against the overstuffed bag and pushed into it, knocking the walker backwards and into a few more that were trying to catch up. 'Don't leave me behind' he thought. 'Please'

"Shit, shit shit shit. This is too much!" He grabbed his cart again and started running as fast as he could.

Space to run suddenly became cramped, several walkers rushed in from the side, Christa in their sights.

"Chris! Your right!" Omid saw walkers advance on his girlfriend. She stopped just in time and moved out of their reach on the other side of the cart. They plowed into it with enough of them to push the cart off two of its wheels.

Distracted by Christa, they failed to notice Omid's wrench furiously bludgeoning them to the ground.

"Lets go!"

Both he and Christa pushed the burdened cart to the exit. With Christa in the clear, Omid ran back for Ben who was now cut off by a row of walkers.

"Ben! Leave it, lets go! There's too many!" Ben was more than happy to leave the cart. The walkers were closing in, without it he sidestepped them and make a mad dash for the exit. Empty handed but alive.

Out the back and to the car. It took exactly thirty seconds to shovel everything into the back of the Bronco with barely enough room for Ben to squeeze himself inside. Through the parking lot, down the street, and back inside the office building where it was empty, dark, and safe.

Omid made sure that something heavy was pushed in front of the doors. They weren't able to find the keys so there was no way to lock the doors. "Well...that could have gone a lot better."

"No kidding." Christa said catching her breath but for the most part the buzzing adrenaline kept her elated. She smiled a little despite herself. "We got out with something. I can't believe we really pulled that off."

One cart full of supplies and two bags of medicine. They had wanted more but after the close call, getting out with no casualties made their acquired bounty more than a fair trade off.

"We can always try again." said Omid. The couple noticed Ben flinch visibly at the idea. "Hey we killed more than just a few of those awful things in there. So we'll have less to deal with on the second run. But before then we should try planning a little better."

For the first time in days Ben was able to eat till he was satisfied...at least partially. Even that was more than the usual. He fell asleep with a stomach full of vienna sausages and spam. A peaceful dreamless sleep, the nightmares didn't haunt him.

The next morning didn't skip a beat. Before they could even hope to get anywhere more supplies were needed. The local hardware store was a blessing. Glass had to be broken in order to get inside but the place turned out to be completely empty. Christa stood guard outside near the car while Ben and Omid had a run of the place. Fuel cans, tubing, hammer and nails, a coil of rope, a crowbar and a few other items that they thought might be useful. Including a small battery charger kit, which Omid was really happy to find. Two hours later they turned onto the interstate heading north. Their urgently active and high spirited nature lessened as they drove, the lack of activity and movement leaving them with nothing to do except watch the scenery and reflect on the past. On the dead they left behind.

There wasn't much to talk about. Nothing much to say. On the move again with a destination in mind. The countryside where hopefully fewer of the undead had managed to wander.

* * *

"Ellis, you sure this is the right place?"

The young man shifted out of the blue racing car and reached in for his shotgun. Then he turned and put a hand up to his eyes, scanning the large area ahead of him.

"Sure as rain, Ro! Back about a year ago I had a look around the place out of curiosity. Even took some pictures with the address scribbled on the back for an occasion such as this." With the end of his shot gun he pointed toward the woods where he described the location of a run down farmhouse that sat about a mile off the interstate, nestled quiet and to itself in a big patch of forest stretched wide and far and followed the road for miles upon miles.

"For an occasion like this? Seriously?" the woman sighed. "I mean I know you're a little odd but I didn't think you'd be..."

"All I see are a bunch of trees." Another man in a white suit stood up from the back seat, one pistol on his belt and an uzi in hand. He squinted at the forest, nothing but a wall of damn trees. It was difficult to see anything past the outer edge. With concentration he thought he saw a path but definitely no house.

" I don't see anything. You sure this is a good idea, Ellis?" he asked.

The younger man sighed with an air of patience. As if he understood the ignorance of his companion and somehow pitied him. " Well we gotta walk a bit but I know the way." When he got no response he frowned. "Aw come on, Nick, don't you trust me?"

Nick raised an eyebrow but his overall expression remained static. "Would you really be all that surprised if I said 'no'?"

"It would devastate me." Ellis said as an obvious joke and turned to look over the roof of the car seeking the approval of a large man in a purple jersey that fit smuggly around his middle. "Ain't I right, Coach? I know you believe me at least."

Coach shrugged.

"The only thing I believe is that this car guzzles down gas like its got holes in the tank, things almost empty." he said.

"Yeah almost empty just like our guns are almost out of bullets! And I know were to get fresh ones!" Ellis turned around and started to walk into the woods. "Fine fine if ya don't want to come in then just wait here, I'll be right back with the goods before you miss me."

"Quick, Rochelle." Nick whispered to the only woman in the group of four who sat in the back seat with an axe across her lap and two bags strapped over her shoulder. "Lets get the hell out of here while we have a chance!" Rochelle smirked and leaned over front seat on the drivers side.

"I don't think that's possible, Nick."

"What?"

Rochelle pointed at the ignition. "Kid took the keys."

"Goddamit."

"Like you really believe Ellis would give anyone else the ability to drive this car?" said Coach and smiled. It was as good a time as any to stretch his legs and unlike Nick, he trusted Ellis for some strange reason. Maybe it was a Georgia thing. He grabbed his shotgun and started down the same path as the young mechanic in the yellow shirt.

"No point in sitting on our asses, lets get a move on."

* * *

Clementine rolled a little on the old mattress. The light from a window fell on her face, just enough to wake her up. She sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes, for the first few seconds everything seemed unfamiliar before the last few days and nights rolled back into place in her memory. She and Molly had found an old house. Well more accurately, Molly had found it, known about it in advance and decided it would be safe to sleep on their first night on the road.

It sat a long way from the road at the end of a winding drive way that passed into a thick patch of woods behind which the house was hidden. Nobody would come within miles of this place. That was Molly's hope but she diligently checked the perimeter just in case. No plans for an extended stay so no reason to try and rig up any sort of alarm system. They both checked every nook and cranny of the interior.

Not one human, not a single walker. Just one big empty lonely farmhouse.


End file.
